Did a gas station display a message on its roadside price sign telling customers, "For your safety have your gun in your hand while visiting this gas station"? No, that's not true: This image was generated by a prank website that allows people to create their own message on a variety of sign images. The photo appeared in a post…

Was an aircraft carrier with 38 military jets deployed to the Suez Canal to the scene of the grounded container ship that conspiracy theorists claim was carrying trafficked children and nuclear weapons? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found the post's photo -- which was taken 30 years ago -- of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the National Archives.…

Do these photos show a charity worker from Denmark adopted a naked and dying 2-year-old abandoned child in Nigeria? No, that's not true. Charity worker Anja Ringgren Lovén is in all of the photos in the meme, with different-colored hair. The boy in the photos from 2016 and 2017 is the same young Nigerian child. She did not adopt him…

Did Richard A Rothschild patent a COVID-19 test kit in 2015? No, that's not true: Richard A Rothschild's patent application for a system and method to test for Covid-19 was submitted on May 17, 2020, not in 2015. The 2020 patent application lists several 'events' (a patent law term) and included in that list of events are several 'priority dates'…

Does a new "X22 Report" video contain only factual and proven statements? No, that's not true: The video recycles familiar conspiracy theories, including disproven claims about a mass shooting and voter fraud in the 2020 election. It repeats allegations about Hunter Biden, Project Veritas and the ship stuck in the Suez Canal that are either not supported by publicly available…

Does Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi use an Air Force jet every Friday to fly "home from Washington D.C. to San Francisco, and then back to DC on Mondays"? No, there's no evidence that's true: When Pelosi began her current tenure as speaker in 2019, her deputy chief of staff said the California Democrat intended to use commerical flights…

Did a man, Charleston Wilson of Greenwood, Mississippi, receive a stimulus payment of $22,400 and pose for photos with large stacks of cash? No, that's not true: While the identity and location of this man remains a mystery, the photographs of him with large stacks of cash predate the stimulus payments, and the Facebook page that created this meme has…

Is a ship that blocked traffic in the Suez Canal on March 23, 2021, used for human and sex trafficking? Is there a connection between the ship and Hillary Clinton? No, that's not true: There's no publicly available evidence the container ship is involved in illegal trafficking activities, nor is there anything -- such as the ship's maritime call sign…

Does eating eggs feed pathogens and "feed" heavy metals in your liver, fostering disease? No, that's not true: The claim was published without citation of evidence. Nutritionists and other medical experts say this naturopathic claim ignores the established scientific consensus of how the human body functions and ignores the fact that millions of people eat eggs with none of the…

Were the mass shootings in spas and massage parlors in Atlanta, and at a grocery store in Boulder and the September 11, 2001, attacks carried out under "false flags" so that the government could pass gun control legislation and invade Afghanistan, respectively? No, that's not true. There is no evidence that the mass shootings in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 16,…

Did CNN run a caption saying the shooter who killed 10 people in Boulder, Colorado, on March 22, 2021, was factually Arabic but morally white? No, that's not true: the screenshot with the caption originated on a satire site but took on a life of its own when it went viral independently and was taken to be real by several…

Is the Colorado shooting suspect an "Islamic extremist"? Did Democratic senators demand a "ban on further cabinet appointments for white people" one day after that mass killing? No, that's not true: There is no publicly available evidence the 21-year-old man identified as the suspect in the Boulder, Colorado, King Sooper shooting is an "Islamic extremist" and some evidence he was…

Did Disneyland announce that there will be a new "no scream" policy on theme park rides and that the park would be enforcing this policy? No, that's not true: While there were recommendations that were published by the California Attractions and Parks Association as part of the trade group's "Responsible Reopening Plan" the recommendation did not specify that parks institute…

Is Vice President Kamala Harris disrespecting military personnel when she doesn't return their salute as she boards Air Force One? No, that's not true: The vice president is not in the military chain of command. As a civilian, she is not, by protocol, directed to salute, and one expert says a vice president saluting would be "incorrect." A Pentagon spokesman…

Did the 2007 fictional movie "I Am Legend" tell the story of a population that gets turned into zombies by "the wrong vaccine" in 2021? No, that's not true: The movie is set in 2012, not 2021, and the characters in the movie are not harmed by a vaccine, but a genetically-modified virus meant to cure cancer. The claim appeared…

Is Richard Grenell the president of the United States and could you "prove" it by looking it up on Google? No and yes. No, Grenell is not and never has been the president. Yes, for a short time Google did prominently list Grenell as the president of the United States in a "knowledge panel" graphic appearing in search results. On…

Was the Milwaukee County Children's Court judge arrested on seven counts of child porn also the former president of Drag Queen Story Hour Foundation? No, that's not true. Children's Court Judge Brett Blomme was arrested on seven counts of child porn in Milwaukee on March 16, 2021. But, he was not the president of the Drag Queen Story Hour Milwaukee…

Was regular unleaded gasoline $7.89 per gallon and diesel $8.98 per gallon on March 19, 2021, at a Maverik convenience store in Albuquerque, New Mexico? No, that's not true: The sign is at a store that isn't scheduled to open until April 2021, a man answering the phone at the store on March 23, 2021, told Lead Stories. The man,…

Does the federal government spend $0 on housing homeless veterans? No, that's not true: The 2021 budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) earmarks approximately $1.9 billion for homeless programs, including housing programs. One such program combines services and vouchers to help homeless veterans and their families find permanent housing. Another gives grants and per diem payments to nonprofits…

Did President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris fly together on Air Force One? No, that's not true. The president and vice president took separate planes to Atlanta on March 19, 2021. She flew on Air Force Two and he flew on Air Force One. When they landed, Harris boarded Air Force One to be briefed with the president…